Director Of Labor And Employee Relations (0932 Manager IV) - DPH - 167473

Company Description

The Department of Public Health prioritizes equitable and inclusive access to quality healthcare for its community and values the importance of diversity in its workforce. All employees at the Department of Public Health work to advance equity, inclusion, and diversity with a specific lens and focus on race, ethnicity, gender, sex, sexuality, disability, and immigration status.

This is a Position-Based Test conducted in accordance with CSC Rule 111A. Learn more about the City’s hiring process here: https://careers.sf.gov/knowledge/process/

• Application Opening: Tuesday, September 22, 2026

• Application Deadline: Application filing will close on or after Sunday, October 4, 2026

• Salary: $173,264 to $221,052 Annually (Range A)

• Appointment Type: Permanent Civil Service

• Recruitment ID: PBT-0932-167473

• Work Arrangement: Onsite

Becoming a City employee means being a part of a team that cares about making a difference. Your work will shape both the present and future of San Francisco. When you work for the City, you’re choosing a job with purpose.

The San Francisco Department of Public Health (DPH) operates one of the most complex and integrated public health systems in the nation, with approximately $3.6 billion in annual funding, nearly 9,000 employees, two hospitals, more than 45 primary and specialty care clinics, and extensive behavioral health, population health, emergency preparedness, managed care, and community-based services.

Our workforce makes this possible. In a city with a deep labor tradition, strong labor partnerships are essential to supporting our employees and advancing DPH’s mission to deliver high-quality healthcare and public health services. Fulfilling this mission requires employees working across our hospitals, clinics, programs, and offices to deliver services and support the communities we serve. Individuals interested in joining DPH should expect to work in person across these settings.

DPH is seeking an impact-driven strategist and negotiator with deep labor relations expertise to lead Labor & Employee Relations across the Department.

Reporting to the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO), the Director develops labor strategy, represents DPH’s operational and workforce interests in Citywide collective bargaining, leads significant negotiations and meet-and-confer processes, guides labor-management relations and collective bargaining agreement administration, and drives consistent, high-performing Labor & Employee Relations across DPH.

This is an opportunity to make a significant impact in one of the nation’s largest and most complex public health systems. The mandate is to establish the systems, standards, and organizational capability needed to address complex workforce issues consistently, strengthen labor relations, and deliver measurable results.

DPH’s labor environment encompasses 11+ bargaining units, more than 20 labor-management committees, over 100 unique classifications, and a workforce spanning hospitals, clinics, behavioral health, population health, and administrative operations. The Director must be equally comfortable at the bargaining table, working with executives, navigating consequential workforce matters, and developing the people and systems necessary to support an organization of this scale.

Working closely with the CHRO, DPH executives and operational leaders, labor partners, and DHR, the Director will anticipate significant workforce issues and develop practical, durable approaches that support employees, strengthen operations, and advance DPH’s mission.

Key Responsibilities:

• Drive labor strategy and major negotiations. Set department-wide labor priorities and approaches; lead significant negotiations and meet-and-confer processes; and represent DPH’s operational and workforce interests in Citywide collective bargaining and other major labor matters.
• Deliver high-performing Labor & Employee Relations. Direct collective bargaining agreement administration and Employee Relations, including grievances, discipline, investigations, performance, conduct, and escalated matters, with a focus on consistency, responsiveness, and results.
• Advance department-wide workforce priorities. Support the CHRO in advancing department-wide workforce priorities and guide executive and operational leaders through consequential labor matters and decisions with significant workforce implications.
• Strengthen labor partnerships. Develop credible, productive relationships with labor partners and bring labor, HR, and operations together to resolve difficult issues, address shared challenges, and achieve durable outcomes.
• Transform information into organizational performance. Use data, trends, and insights from labor and employee relations matters to anticipate emerging issues, set priorities, improve practices, measure performance, and drive better results across DPH.
• Develop a high-performing team. Lead through the Managers of Labor Relations and Employee Relations; develop managers, supervisors, and professional staff; align resources with priorities; and set high expectations for expertise, judgment, responsiveness, and accountability.

Education: Baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university, AND

Experience: Five (5) years of professional human resources experience, of which at least three (3) years must include professional experience in labor relations, including collective bargaining, meet-and-confer processes, grievance administration, labor-management relations, and interpretation and administration of collective bargaining agreements; and three (3) years must include experience supervising professional staff. The required labor relations and supervisory experience may overlap.

Education Substitution: Additional qualifying professional human resources experience may substitute for the required education on a year-for-year basis for up to two (2) years.

Experience Substitution: Possession of a Juris Doctorate (J.D.) or master’s degree may substitute for one (1) year of the required professional experience. The advanced degree may not substitute for the required labor relations or supervisory experience.

Applicants must meet the minimum qualification requirements by the final filing date unless otherwise noted.

One-year full-time employment is equivalent to 2,000 hours (2,000 hours of qualifying work experience is based on a 40-hour work week).

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS: The stated desirable qualifications may be considered at the end of the selection process when candidates are referred for hiring.

Verification of Education and Experience:

Every application is reviewed to ensure that you meet the minimum qualifications as listed in the job ad. Review SF Careers Employment Applications for considerations taken when reviewing applications.

Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. If education or experience verification is required, information on how to verify education and experience requirements, including verifying foreign education credits or degree equivalency, can be found at https://careers.sf.gov/knowledge/experience-education/.

Note: Falsifying one’s education, training, or work experience or attempted deception on the application may result in disqualification for this and future job opportunities with the City and County of San Francisco.

Selection Procedures:

After application submission, candidates deemed qualified must complete all subsequent steps to advance in this selection process, which includes the following.

Behavioral Consistency Questionnaire: (Weight: 100%)

The Behavioral Consistency Questionnaire is designed to measure the knowledge, skills, and abilities in job related areas, which may include, but not limited to

Knowledge of: Public sector labor relations principles and practices; Employee relations principles; Organizational structure, policies, civil service, and labor frameworks.

Ability to: Lead with strategic and programmatic focus; Apply strong interpersonal effectiveness; Exercise exceptional judgment and decision-making; Support leadership initiatives and organizational strategy; Manage resources and employee performance; Analyze data and information; Communicate effectively orally and in writing; Collaborate across organizations; Lead and support a diverse workforce.

Candidates must achieve a passing score on the Behavioral Consistency Questionnaire to continue in the selection process and will be placed on the confidential eligible list in rank order according to their final score.

Additional selection processes may be conducted prior to making final hiring decisions.

Certification

The certification rule for the eligible list resulting from this examination will be the Rule of the list.

Eligible List/Score Report:

A confidential eligible list of applicant names that have passed the civil service examination process will be created and used for certification purposes only. An examination score report will be established, so applicants can view the ranks, final scores and number of eligible candidates. Applicant information, including names of applicants on the eligible list, shall not be made public unless required by law. However, an eligible list shall be made available for public inspection, upon request, once the eligible list is exhausted or expired and referrals resolved. The eligible list/score report resulting from this civil service examination process is subject to change after adoption (e.g., as a result of appeals), as directed by the Human Resources Director or the Civil Service Commission.

The duration of the eligible list resulting from this examination process will be 6 Months and may be extended with the approval of the Human Resources Director.

The eligible list resulting from this recruitment may be utilized to fill future and current vacancies in this class at other locations within the DPH for the duration of the eligible list.

To find Departments which use this classification, please see the city’sPosition Counts by Job Codes and Departments.

Terms of Announcement and Appeal Rights:

Applicants must be guided solely by the provisions of this announcement, including requirements, time periods and other particulars, except when superseded by federal, state or local laws, rules or regulations. Clerical errors may be corrected by the posting the correction on the Department of Human Resources website at https://careers.sf.gov/.

The terms of this announcement may be appealed under Civil Service Rule 111A.35.1. The standard for the review of such appeals is ‘abuse of discretion’ or ‘no rational basis’ for establishing the position description, the minimum qualifications and/or the certification rule. Appeals must include a written statement of the item(s) being contested and the specific reason(s) why the cited item(s) constitute(s) abuse of discretion by the Human Resources Director. Appeals must be submitted directly to the Executive Officer of the Civil Service Commission within five business days of the announcement issuance date.

Additional Information Regarding Employment with the City and County of San Francisco:

• Information About the Hiring Process
• Conviction History
• Employee Benefits Overview
• Equal Employment Opportunity
• Disaster Service Worker
• ADA Accommodation
• Veterans Preference
• Seniority Credit in Promotional Exams
• Right to Work
• Copies of Application Documents
• Diversity Statement

Where to Apply

All job applications for the City and County of San Francisco must be submitted through our online portal. Please visit https://careers.sf.gov/ to begin your application process.

Applicants may be contacted by email about this recruitment. Please consider using a personal email address that you check regularly rather than a work or school account.

Computers are available for the public (9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday) to file online applications in the lobby of the Dept. of Human Resources at 1 South Van Ness Avenue, 4th Floor and at the City Career Center at City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, Room 110.

Ensure your application information is accurate, as changes may not be possible after submission. Your first and last name must match your legal ID for verification, and preferred names can be included in parentheses. Use your personal email address, not a shared or work email, to avoid unfixable issues.

Applicants will receive a confirmation email from [email protected] that their online application has been received in response to every announcement for which they file. Applicants should retain this confirmation email for their records. Failure to receive this email means that the online application was not submitted or received.

If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact the analyst, Scott DeWolfe at [email protected] or (628) 271-6714.

We may use text messaging to communicate with you on the phone number provided in your application. By applying, you accept the Trust and Privacy Policy and you may opt out of text messaging anytime.

POSITION #: 01088980

The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.